Lesson Plan #: AELP-INT0117
Date: October 29, 1999
Grade Level(s): All
Subject(s):
Duration: A continuous study during the course of a given school year.
Description: Grade-level THEMATIC TEAMS (representing the several academic/non-academic areas of the curriculum) plan field-based learning experiences for students. This interdisciplinary approach to teaching & learning focuses students' attention on the relevance of their formal education to the real world of the community, and enhances their perceptions/understanding of the nature & character of the total lifespace environment in which they exist and prosper.
Goals: As a result of their direct involvement in REAL WORLD STUDIES, students will understand: 1) the nature & character of the social (human-made) environment in which they live, 2) the nature & character of the natural environment that surrounds them - and in which they live, 3) the interaction that occurs- and the interdependence that exists between social and natural environments, 4) ways that their formal education (K-12) can-and-does enhance employment opportunities in the lifespace's world of work, 5) the character of community resource people, 6) the character of community resources (places, things, events, processes).
Objectives: Students will: 1) interact with community resource people, 2) interact with community resources, 3) investigate world of work employment opportunities in the community, 4) create graphic displays and reports, 5) apply knowledge/skills acquired, as a result of interdisciplinary/thematic studies, to assigned projects and teacher-designed LEARNING ENHANCEMENT MENU field-based activities.
Materials: 1) community resource people, 2) community resources (places, things, events, and processes), 3) reference materials (print/non-print and software), 4) career education cluster unit materials, 5) motion picture/still photography cameras and video tape equipment (for purposes of data collection at field-based locations/sites).
Procedure: Interdisciplinary/thematic-based REAL WORLD STUDIES directly involve students of all ages in a continuous (K-12) investigation of the nature and character of lifespace environments that are nearby/close-to-home and distant/far-removed. Grade-level THEMATIC TEAMS, comprised of academic and non-academic subject teachers, design units/lesson plans -- determining how each subject can address selected concepts & topics, and nurture a holistic learning perspective among students. Students are formally introduced to the natural and social environments in which they live, and are made aware of ways that their formal education can enhance the quality of their daily lives -- now and in the future. In the school; as a result of an interdisciplinary/thematic approach to teaching & learning, students are helped, by their teachers, to 'connect' the knowledge/concepts/skills acquired in a subject (e.g., earth science) with the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domain properties of other subjects (e.g., history, literature, art & music) -- thus arriving at a holistic (interrelated) perspective of the entire grade-level curriculum. At field-based sites, students apply the knowledge/concepts/skills acquired in the the school to action-oriented investigative studies and data collection.
Assessment: As a result of their participation in REAL WORLD STUDIES, students will exhibit abilities and understanding by: 1) discussing contemporary issues related to the local community, region, state, nation, and the world, 2) collecting field-based data using cameras/video tape equipment and audio tape recorders, 3) constructing graphic displays and reports, 4) asking prepared questions/spontaneous questions of guest speakers and site-based resource people, 5) writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper(s), 6) creating & presenting oral (research) reports, 7) create WORLD OF WORK displays which emphasize the importance of geeting a quality education -- in order for them to achieve employment/higher education goals.